Jeanne Michele Thompson Brooks - partner, mother, grandmother, and friend - passed away peacefully on March 16, 2024, from complications surrounding liver disease, at the age of 70.

Michele, as she was known to everyone, was born in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1953 to Calvert Leroy “Cotton” Thompson and Sylvia Smith Thompson. The youngest of four children, she grew up in Silver Spring, MD, in the family home her grandparents had built, and graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in 1971. It was these childhood years, surrounded by family and close neighborhood friends, that instilled in her a devotion to family which would last the rest of her life.

In 1973, Michele married Glenn Sharpe and began a family of her own. Together they purchased a small home from Michele’s aunt Jeanne in Silver Spring, where they welcomed their son, Brian. Three years later, the growing family moved to Colesville where their daughter, Debbie, joined the family. Though family had always been extremely important to Michele, it wasn’t until she became a mother that Michele found her true calling and life’s work.

As a young parent, Michele was a homemaker, but would make time to visit her parents and other relatives often. She loved holidays, and whether it be hearts, shamrocks, bunnies or pumpkins, she had a decoration for EVERY occasion. Christmas was her favorite, and she developed a habit of staying up until all hours Christmas Eve, listening to carols and meticulously wrapping a mountain of perfect-looking presents. Regardless of how little sleep she had, on Christmas morning she would be dressed in her Santa hat, ready to happily watch all her work be undone.

She was known for her love to throw parties. If she got the idea for a reason to throw one, she would make it happen. She enjoyed being silly, and it wasn’t out of character for her to moo loudly at cows when driving by, or gallop around a room if she thought it would get a laugh.

After divorcing, she moved to Germantown in 1987 and began work as an administrative assistant for a small local company. Shortly thereafter she met her second husband, Steve Brooks, who introduced her to country-western dancing. Her love for dancing took them to dance floors all around the state and on any given weekend, you could find her in boots, two-stepping the night away.

However, more than anything, Michele loved the beach, and in particular, Ocean City, MD. She began visiting O.C. with her family as a child and visited at least once a year for the rest of her life, including last August when she spent her 70th birthday sailing, eating crab, and admiring the ponies.

Though Ocean City was her home away from home, she enjoyed taking trips and exploring new destinations. Later in life, she traveled farther afield, visiting California with her mother, exploring Las Vegas and Disney World with her son and grandkids, and even journeying to Churchill, Manitoba last year to see wild polar bears with her daughter.

An avid animal-lover, Michele’s big heart bled for almost any furry creature. She gave to several charities, and over the decades loved and cared for many pets. Her compassionate nature meant that she also loved taking care of people too. She was a devoted daughter who unselfishly spent countless hours caring for her mother as she struggled with, and eventually succumbed to, Alzheimer’s disease.

After her mother’s passing, she lived the last 5 years of her life in Taneytown, MD alongside her long-time partner, Eddie Mayhew, with whom she enjoyed the quiet calm of small-town life. With Eddie she found a willing travel companion who shares her love of animals. Together they have co-parented a number of adored pets, including Summer, Trixie, and Bella, as well as their little bird, Pretty Boy.

Michele was preceded in death by her sister Nancy Ostrander Sky, and half-siblings Beverly Armentrout and Larry Thompson. She is survived by her partner Eddie Jo Mayhew, daughter Deborah Lynn Sharpe, son Brian Glenn Sharpe and wife Dina, grandchildren Carter Glenn Sharpe and Emily Grace Sharpe, as well as numerous long-time friends.

A service will be held at DeVol Funeral Home, 10 E. Deer Park Drive, Gaithersburg, MD on Saturday, March 23, 2024. A visitation with family will begin at 10:30 am with a service to follow at 11:00 am. Interment will be held at Parklawn Memorial Park, Rockville, MD at 2:30 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), https://secure.aspca.org/, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), https://www.worldwildlife.org/, the Alzheimer’s Association, https://www.alz.org/, or to a hospice of your choice.